Trolley-restorer.



' W. H, STEBBINS, Jn. TROLLEY RESTOBBR. APPLICATION FILEDJAN. 14. 1910.

984,712. YPatented Femi, 1.9i..

wz'fnesses. 25 /9' /5 5f' Aorneys.

l Per' ifo vide .'m'echanismfi ofvsimple construction BINS, Jr., a .citizen of the'United- States, re-

L new: i and useful Improvement" in Trolley- Restore'rs," off` which 4the following; is a full, clear, concise,and.exactdescription "ley-restoring ldevice,l:anel" its robj ect 'is to prowliich can-readily be used in y`col'inectionwith ,the ordinary v'trolle-pole 'andjwhich will automatically restore the trolley' into running lcontact With-fte 'wire incase `accidentally 'escapetherefrom f invention consis'ts'kof a trolley-restoryin g mernber mounted upon' the' trolley-pole ,'IIearthe npperend thereof and-adapted' to be projeetl-iolinfanl upward position to bring the':trolleyiwirejabove the trolley-wheel, and

should automatically :oper"atedf mechanism `for con'- trolling Qt-he.A operation 'fof said restoring mein'ber, said meclinlsin-'being arranged to cape of theftroll'eyL from the wire; and there- 'b'y' to frplaef the 'trell'eyV 1n' Y contact with the wire'`v and"`r` eset the trolley-re storing device.

In 'its preferred' embodiment my invention ,Winnen smentite, fait., or BUFiaALo, 4Niavv YORK.

Myfinventionrelat-es to afnautoinatic trolbeset finmotion mechanically upon the esirnonrir-RESTORER.

y pfLettesPatet 'Patented Feb.21,1911. `X x,:ff' pplipation filed January14,19i0.f `Serial No. 537,999.

with respect to the trolley-wheel; Fligs. 3 and 4 are longitudinal cent-ral sectional and end vieu-1e, respectively, oi"l the piston'an'd cylinder which controls the operation of the'restoringfork. f

'f Similar letters ot reference re'i'el'f,r to similar parts throughout the several views.

-My invention is" adapted vto be used in ,on-

'member nection with an ordinary trolley-pole 1. ro-

vided at its upper end with the trol eywheel 2 mounted in the harp 3 and springpressed in the usual manner (not shown) Y into running contact wlth the trolley-w1re4.

Clamped or' otherwise suitably secured.l to

lthe pole 1 below the harp 3 is a bracket 5.

The arms 6, 6 of the trolley-restoring mem;v

ber Iare provided at their lowerl ends with alined openings 7 through which they are pivoted to the bracket 5 as shown in Fig. l. The upper ends of thearms 6, 6 have se- `cured thereto "a trolley engaging device which preferably consists'of a metallic bar o r forlrhaving a central groove or depression andoppositely and upWardlyeXtendarms 9,9. `The groove 8 lies below the trolley-wire4 and always remains in valinementwith the usual groove in the trolleywheel.` lThe two arms 9, 9'extend upon the opposite side of the trolley-wheel 2, so as to consists, *inoref'spe'ciifcflly" statedflof a trolengage the 'wire 4 yin case the trolley escapes -lie -i'estorihgfinember'having' arms eXtendfhlefrOm. p

upon the opposite'sides' of the t-rolley- The bell-crank lever 10 is pvoted at its f therollef-pole, a :piston-having a 411-2 chamber in; Vwhiclrsaid piston rec 'roea ts,f`a valve' controllingthe admissfi 'of compressed lair from-1an air-brake systern-, said-valvefbeingso arranged as to, .4Q- `of th be,`vfneehaiii c'allV operated, upon'- thev 'escape and "pivotailyf carried upon" the upper A.p ed air, .to thecylinder and thereby to' 'crank lever 10 has pivoted thereto an operl reciprocate said jpiston, which in lturnl oper-V ating4 rod 15,'the lower' end of said rod being fatesfthe trolley-restoring member landi resets 'connectedV by thel coupling nut 16 with'fthe 100 45' the entire' vmechanism'in its initial normal plunger or piston 'rod' 17 Securedupon the -'co1iditipn.'A i Leij f rod 17 is the piston head 1 8, Which is mount- Myinvent'i'on maybe vmore readily undered to reciprocate in thekpiston chamber or stood-"by 'reference tofthe accompanying cylinder 19, said cylinder being closed at its.. dwin'ggi,finfwhi'cllgl, upper end 2O andopen at its lower end 21. 105 50: "Figure," 1'1" islza-"fsidefelevation, 4with parts The cylinder 1,9 is provided near its lower f broltenlajway atrolley-polefequipped with end Wit-h'three-ports,l 22, 23, 24. The portl :my invention;, FiggQis afplan view- Showing 22 vcommunicates with Vthe pipev 25 of the' "tHe--trolley-restoring. memberandj'the operusual air-brake s 'ystein of the car upon which l'ating'lever the` ljdetached'frornthe trolv'the,trolley-pole is mounted. The port 24 110 ,communicatesthrougha pipe 26 with the jfpelaftve position-,ofthe 'arms-oft @restoring- :27; which opens into the upperend of the cylinder 19. Intermediate the ports 22 and 24 is the exhaust port 23. The ports 22, 23 and 24 are controlled by a reciprocating valve 28 which is preferably in the form of a short hollow cylinder fitting within thecylinder 19 and open at each end in order to prevent any accumulation of air pressure between said valve 28 and the piston 18. The lower end of the cylinder 19 thus constitutes a valve chamber for the sliding valve 28. The valve 28 has a thickened portion 29 provided with a valve passage 30 so arranged that in one position of said valve 28 the ports 23 and 24 are connected, as shown in Fig. 3, while in the other position thereof, the ports 22 and 24 are connected. The port 24 is thusalways in communication with the valve passage 30, and hence the connection 'of the upper end of the piston 19 with the air-brake system or with exhaust is dependent upon the position of the valve 28. v

The upper end of the valve 28 is provided with a flange 31 adapted to be engaged by a collar 32 [upon `the lower end of the piston rod 17 the piston thus by an initial limited upward movement operating the valve 28 so as to bring the port 22 into communication with the valve chamber 30. Another collar 33, likewise carried by the piston rod 17 on the underside of the piston 18, serves to restore the piston valve 28 to its initial position, as will hereinafterbe more fully described. The piston head 18 is provided with a sleeve 34, and surround- 4-ing said sleeve between piston 18 and the cylinder head 20 is a coiled spring 35. The sleeve 34 is of such length as to admit of a slight initial upward n iovment of the piston 18 from the position shown in Fig. 3, in order that a similar limitedmovement may be transmitted through the nut 32to the piston valve 28, as hereinafter described. The extent of the downward movement of the piston 18 is determined by a collar 36 carried by the rod 17 above the cylinder head 20, said collar 36 abutting against the cylinder head to stop the downward movement of the piston rod and piston. The coiled spring 37 'surrounds the upper end of the piston rod 17 between the cylinder head 20 and the nut 16.

The operation of the trollel -restoring device is as follows: Assume tiat the trolley is in the normal running position shown in Fig. 1, in which case the trolley-restoring device will likewiseV be in its normal position as shown. It will be -understood that the trolley-pole 1 is of the usual construction. In the event therefore of the wheel 2 escaping from thev wire 4, the trolley-pole 1. will fly upward, in the usual manner. This ywill bring one or' the other of the arms 9, 9

of the trolley-restoring fork into engagement with the-wire 4 and the pressure theregavle of against said wire will cause the arms 6, 6 to swing out `from the wheel 2 upon their pivotal points 7, thus operating thebellcrank lever 10 to pull the rod 15 in an upward direction. The upward pull on the rod 15 is communicated to the piston rod 17, and the nut 32 upon the lower end thereof engages with the flange 31 of the. valve 28 and raises said valve so that the port 22 is breught intol communication with the port 24 through the valve chamber 30, and the exhaust port 23 is closed. Compressed air from the air-brake system thus is ad- -mitted into the upper portion o the cylinder`-19through the port 27, and the piston 18 is thereupon forced in the opposlte .or downward direction, thereby giving a downwand pull upon the rod 15, which, in turn, operates the bell-crank lever 10 to throw the arms 6, 6 and the arms 9, 9 carried thereby in anv upward direction against the force presented by the trolley-wire. In this posltion the arms 6, 6 will straddle the wheel 2 and the arms 9,' 9 will be slightly elevated above the trolley-wheel.- The wire 4 will thereupon' move down into the central groove 8. At the extreme downwai` movement of the piston 18, 'the extent which, as has heretofore been stated, is

termined by the collar 36, the collar 33'eiil,and moves the piston 18 upwardly, the cylinder meanwhile exhausting through ports 27, 24 and 23. The `coiled spring 34 acts as a bumper to stop the upward movement of the piston rod before the collar 32 can engage with the flange 31 of the valize 28.` The upward movement of the piston rod 17 will, through the rod 15 and lever 1,0, lower the arms 6, 6 and the trolley-restoring fork `carried thereby, and since the trolley-'wire is held in the groove 8, it will be brought ioo into the alined groove of the trolley-wheel,

as will be readily understood. The trolleywheel is thus restored into running position, and the several parts of the restoring device are reset to: their normal positions.

lit will thus be understood that the valve 28 acts as a movable controller for bringing into action the operating mechanism which .actuates the trolley-restoring member, said operating mechanism consisting preferably of the piston .18 and cylinder 19 operated 'from' the :fir-brake system and connected by a system oflevers 15, 10 with the arms 6, 6 of the trolley-restoring member. Themovable controller or valve 28 is loosely connected to the piston rod 17"preferably'by means of the nuts 32 and 33 which lie upon theopposite sidesv of the llange 31 of said from anycoiwenient-source of power andl that the movable controller can hemoditiedacc'ordingl all within the broad scope of my invention.

What I claimV is^z` l.' The combination with a trolley-restoring menber; of a' piston rod operatively connected therewithv and rarranged lto be given an initialrlimited movement by downward pressure exerted on said restoring member; a cylinder; a piston, securedto sa-id pistonrod and fitting in said cylinder; a valve chamber provided with a port for tl1e"`admis`sion of compressed air, a port lcommunicating with the piston chamber and an exhaust port;` and a valve operativelyconne cted to said piston 'rod and controlling`said ports of said valve chamber;

p. i 2, The combination with a trolley-restoring -member; of a piston rod operatively connected therewith and arranged to be given an initial limited movement by downward .pressure exerted on said restoring 'v1ne1nber; a cylinder'having a closed upper end and an open. lower end; a piston 'fitting in the upper endof said cylinder and secured to said iston rod, the lowerend ofthe .said cylinder eing provided with a port forthe admission (3f-'compressed air, a port .com-

municating with the piston chamber and an exhaust port;I and a cylindrical Valve slidably mounted in the lowerend of said cylinderand sli'dably connected to said piston rod, said valye in one posit-ion connecting the compressed air port with theportto the` piston chamber and in its oppositeposition connecting the port to the piston chamber with the exhaust port.

3., In a trolley-restoring device; the combination with a trolley-pole and a trolleycar-V ried thereby for engagement with a vfeed wire; ofa trolley-restoring member comprising arms pivoted at their lower ends' to 'said poleand provided at their tippe-rends' with a fork having a central groove and arms .extending therefrom upon the opposite side of'A the trolley a' bellfcranlg lever pivoted at its apex and at oneend thereof to said pole andsaidarms'of the restoring member, respectively; a plunger rod-having an upward extension pivotally connected to the other end of said bell-crank lever; oper= ating means for reciprocating said plunger rod; and a movable 'controller for said'operating means actuatedfrom sald plu-nger'rod and arranged -to .be moved into "operative position by thepressure 'of said restoring member against said wire.

4. The combination with a therewith and arranged to be given anini- It is evident,fhowever, that the trolley-restorv ing member, of an operating rodv connectedy ing member, a piston arranged to be actn ated by air-pressure for operating the rod in the opposite direction, and a valve con-'4 trolling the air-pressure upon said piston, said valve heilig slidably connected to vsaid operating rod and arranged to be opered by -said initial limited movement of the operating rod and to be closed upon the completion of the stroke ofpthe piston in the opposite direction, whereby said rod and piston have a limited longitudinal movement without any corresponding movement of saidvalve. 1

5. In a trolley-restoring device, the combination with a trolleypole and a trolley carried thereby for engagement with a feed wire; of'a movable trolley-restoring member mounted on said pole and lying underneath said wire in position to. be projected against the same upon lthe escape of said trolley from the wire, a piston rod'operatively connectedl'to said restoring member andarranged to be given an initial limited movement by downward pressure exerted by s 'aid 'wire upon saidrestoring member, a cylinder` inder, said valve being slidably connected toy said operating rod and arranged to be opened by said initiallimited movement of the operating rod and to be closed upon the' complet-ionof the stroke of the piston in the opposite direction, whereby said rod and piston have a limited longitudinal movement' without any corresponding movement of said. valve. 4

6. The combination with a trolley-restoring member; of a piston rod operativelyy connected vtherewith and arranged to be given an initial limited movement by downward pressure exerted on said restoring member; a cylinder having a .closed upper end 'and an open lower end; a piston litfting in said cylinder and secured to said piston rodiintermediate the ends thereof; a cyend of said cylinder and controlling the admission of compressed air to said cylinder;

ative stroke of said piston; means whereby said piston closes said valve at the end of .the piston. stroke; and a spring for return i said piston rod to its initial position.

n?. In a trolley-restoringl device, the combination ivitha trolley-polend a trolley care. ried thereby* for engagement with a feed "lindrical valve slidably mounted inthe lower wire; of a trolley-restoring member comprisinglarmsvpivoted lat their lower ends to said pole and provided at their upper ends witha fork having a central? groove and l armsfextending 'therefrom upon the opposite side of Ithe trolley; a bell-'crank lever pivoted at its apex and at one end 'thereof to said pole and said arms of tlieerestoring member, respectively; a piston rod having an upward extension pivotally connected to the other'end of said bell-crank lever, and arranged to be given 'an initial limited movement in one direction by the pressure exerted when said trolley-restoring member engages said feed-wire; a cylinder having a closed upper end andan open lower end; a piston fitting in said cylinder and secured to said piston rod intermediate the ends thereof; a cylindrical valve slidably mounted in the lower end of said cylinder and controlling the admission of compressed air to said cylinder; a collar upon the lower end of sei-d rod-arranged to move said valve into operative position by said initial limited movement of the piston rod; means for limiting the operative stroke of said piston; means whereby said piston closes said valve at the end of the piston stroke; and a spring fer returning said piston rod to its initial position.

In witness whereof, I, hereunto subscribe my name this eleventh day of January A. D., 1910.

IVILIJIAM H. STEBBINS, JR.

I'Vitnesses H. I. NEWELL, H. MACDONALD. 

